Technology workers who are able to start their own contracting company are a tiny minority of the employed population. To claim everyone has this option and thus should not attempt to affect change at their employer or exercise their power to vote for representatives who enact worker-friendly policies, is naive at best and insulting at worst.
IMHO, this perspective is everything that's wrong with the Silicon Valley mindset. I got mine so f* you if you can't do exactly the same thing as I did.
1 - I live in Texas, not Silicon Valley; 2 - I don't work in technology; 3 - I'm not a contracting company.
Finally, if you read at all what I said with any kind of open mind, then you'd have noticed how hard I said it is. But people rule out the option without really looking at it.
Finally, and I hate to bring this up, but if you don't like it, then quit. That's what I did to start a business. It's tough and it's stressful, and some days are just no fun at all and I wonder what the heck I did. But it's my company, and I only answer to my clients. Yes, I am the shareholder, but honestly, what's in my best interest is serving my clients better than my competition.
Yes, it comes with issues, but so does everything. If you don't like the control a company has over you, then leave. And before anyone says "I can't leave because....", remember, if you get fired, you've still left, and you still have to deal with those same "..." issues. So yes, you can leave. It may be uncomfortable as hell, but you can. You'll be amazed at how hard you will work for a single dollar when it's your own firm. I've never worked this hard for another company. Ever.[0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2018/07/2...